Pack having tear-open aid

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a pack in the form of a stick or cushion, consisting of one or two sheets ( 7, 7′ ), which has at least one aluminum layer facing the contents and one layer, which faces away from the contents, is areally connected to the aluminum layer and is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET layer) or other materials, having a tear-open aid in one of the outer surfaces, which comprises a weakening line in the PET layer. 
     The invention is characterized in that the tear-open aid has at least two weakening lines ( 4, 5 ), the point of intersection of which in the outer surface lies at a distance from the nearest edge of the pack, and in that the angle between the weakening lines at the point of intersection is between 60° and 90° .

The invention relates to a pack having a tear-open aid in accordancewith the preamble of claim 1.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,514 discloses a bag-like pack for drinks, made oftwo substantially parallel or symmetrically arranged sheets, in the caseof which a piercing aid for a drinking straw is provided. The piercingaid consists of a plurality of weakening lines which proceed in astar-like manner from a center and have a length of between 2 mm and 20mm. In a variant in the case of a stand-up bag, crossed weakening linesare provided in a roughened region. The roughenings are intended toprevent the drinking straw from slipping off. In a third variant,radially extending weakening lines which, however, do not reach thecenter are provided; in a fourth variant, a plurality of weakening lineswhich are parallel but at an angle to the outline of the bag areprovided. In these variants, too, the weakening lines have a length of 2mm to 20 mm. It is mentioned that such piercing aids can be provided onboth bag surfaces. A means of accessing the content of the bag otherthan using a drinking straw is not disclosed. The content of the citeddocument is incorporated by reference into the present application forjurisdictions in which this is possible, in particular for the USA.

Weakening lines which are arranged in a star-like manner and furthermoreare formed in a “dotted” manner are known also from DE 295 10 276 in thecase of a confetti package. This consists of a fully filledaxisymmetrical bag which is tied together like a sack at the top and hasthe weakening at the bottom. When the bag is thrown, it bursts open inthe weakening region when it hits an obstacle and releases the confetti.The content of the cited document is incorporated by reference into thepresent application for jurisdictions in which this is possible, inparticular for the USA.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,939,794 discloses a wrapping paper, in which once anarticle, but preferably a plurality of articles which can be removedindividually, have been wrapped, the overlapping regions of the paperare stuck together. In order to make it easier to remove the articles,which are arranged in an aligned manner along a cylinder axis,separately, and also to give the opened pack an attractive appearance,weakening lines are provided. These extend on the one hand normal to thewrapping axis in the abutment region of the individual articles, inorder to make it easier to separate them out; on the other hand theyextend parallel to the wrapping axis along generatrices, in order thatthe wrapping of the individual article can be torn open easily. Thewrapping paper has no other use than for packing a plurality of stackedarticles. The content of the cited document is incorporated by referenceinto the present application for jurisdictions in which this ispossible, in particular for the USA.

DE 84 28 908 U discloses a shrink film, in which, in order to unpack thearticle packed thereby more easily, provision is made of longitudinallyand transversely extending double weakening lines, which form a“tear-off strip” in each case between one another. When in one region apiece of the tear-off strip is exposed and grasped, the pack can beopened without any further problems by tearing off the strip in anappropriate manner. In order to enable grasping, finger openings areprovided in the strip region, and therefore the pack is not impervious.The content of the cited document is incorporated by reference into thepresent application for jurisdictions in which this is possible, inparticular for the USA.

In particular, but not exclusively, the invention relates to what isknown as a child-proof pack made of a multi-layered sheet having atleast one outer plastic layer mostly consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), and at least one inner aluminum layer, which thusfaces the contents. Instead of the PET layer, which will alwaysexclusively be mentioned hereinbelow for greater clarity, a layer ofpaper, oriented polypropylene (OPP) or oriented polyamide (OPA) can alsobe used.

In practice, such multi-layered sheets consist of substantially morelayers. An additional polyethylene layer is nearly always present insidethe aluminum layer; on the outside, the usually likewise multi-layeredprint is applied above the PET layer, up to a transparent protectivelayer for the printing image, but all this is not essential for the aimof the present invention, namely easier opening of such a pack, andtherefore does not need to be explained any further.

Packs made of such sheets are widely used for medicaments, with thealuminum sheet being used on account of its outstanding shielding effect(barrier layer) against all external influences and the PET sheet isused on account of its high mechanical strength. This is also used, ifdesired, to make the finished pack “child-proof”, there being variousstatutory criteria or criteria defined by standards or conventions forwhen such a pack should be designated child- proof. In any case, onaccount of the structure mentioned, it is not simple to open the packwithout aids, and therefore various measures were taken in the prior artto make opening easier here without as far as possible losingchildproofing.

In this respect, reference is made in particular to US 2008/0038415 A1,which, in the case of a stick made of such a multi-layered sheet,provides a weakening line which does not reach as far as the edge sothat it is necessary when opening to fold the stick in the regions ofthe weakening line and then to tear it open along the weakening line.Since it is assumed that children will not fold the stick, this pack isto be considered child-proof despite the weakening line. Since foldingonly takes place “in the region of the weakening line”, it is often notsimple for adults to open this pack.

With regard to the term “stick”, it should also be stated that this isto be understood as including a tubular bag, in which a sheet is formedinto a tube along a longitudinal seam and the tube is divided up intoindividual volumes in predetermined portions by transverse seams. Inthis case, the longitudinal seam is usually arranged approximately inthe middle of the length of the transverse seams, resulting in a viewingsurface on the surface opposite the longitudinal seam and, as a resultof the transverse seams, two usually extremely rounded side edges whichare produced by bending the tube material and tend to be sharp-edged inthe region of the transverse seams, since they are of course weldedtogether in the region of the transverse seams. Therefore, users preferto attempt to open the pack in the region of one of the transverse seamsstarting from one of the side edges. Longitudinal seam and transverseseam are understood to mean adhesive or sealing strips, by means ofwhich the tubular sheet is joined to itself in an impervious manner inthe seam region.

A more bag-like or cushion-like pack, which has a longitudinal seam andtransverse seams, but in which an opening aid is arranged at the pointwhich is obvious even for children, and therefore cannot be consideredto be child-proof, is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,815. A special formhaving a plurality of weakening regions is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No.6,102,571, with a further weakening region being provided in particularin the region of the longitudinal seam, where the sheet is in athree-layer form and is particularly difficult to open, in order to makeopening easier. Such consideration of the problems in the region of thelongitudinal seam in the case of a stick is also disclosed in EP 1 152947. The contents of the cited documents are incorporated by referenceinto the present application for jurisdictions in which this ispossible, in particular for the USA.

In addition to sticks, there also exist as packs, in particular in themedical field, what are known as cushions, in which the pack consists oftwo, usually identical and symmetrically arranged sheets, which areconnected, usually sealed, together along the periphery of the pack. Inone configuration, it is possible to fold a sheet over along one sideedge and thus to create a pack which, when it is in a square form, hassealing seams on three sides and the fold-over of the sheet on thefourth side. The latter construction represents an approximation to thesticks, but in the case of the sticks, the longitudinal seam is alwaysin the middle of one of the two outer surfaces, whereas in the case ofthe cushion it forms a side seam and cannot be distinguished technicallyfrom the transverse seams.

It is now the object of the invention to specify an opening aid forsticks and cushions, as a result of which opening aid childproofing, inparticular, is not compromised.

According to the invention, this is achieved by the features given inthe characterizing part of claim 1.

The invention thus essentially provides, at a distance from the edge ofthe sticks or of the cushion, two intersecting weakening lines in atleast one of the pack surfaces, each of which weakening lines preferablyextends in a straight line, wherein the angle between the weakeninglines at the point of intersection is between 60° and 90° .

This makes it possible in the case of sticks, as well, in particularthose according to the initially mentioned US 2008/0038415 A1, to makeopening easier, since the pack material can easily be folded over alongone weakening line and also precisely in the appropriate region of theother weakening line, along which tearing open takes place. In thisconnection, it should also be noted that it is unfavorable to positionthe weakening lines on the surface of the sticks in said document onaccount of the undesired escape of the content. The other initiallymentioned documents are not of the generic type; in particular U.S. Pat.No. 4,762,514, which is mentioned first, can only be found andredesigned by ex-post consideration, despite similar measures.

In the case of sticks and particularly of cushions, in which it isharder to grasp and fold one of the pack surfaces per se than it is inthe case of sticks, it is provided that such weakening lines are formedin an aligned manner on both pack surfaces. In particular in thisvariant, it is advantageous to provide at least the tear-open line in adouble or multiple form; i.e. to provide two or more weakening linesextending parallel to one another at a small distance apart, since whenthe two pack surfaces are folded, the tear-open lines are usually notprecisely aligned. The distance to be maintained is substantiallysmaller than that between the weakening lines mentioned initially in thecase of the wrapping paper and the shrink film, which are of courseintended to form mechanically stable strips between one another.Preferably, this distance is under a millimeter, very preferably underhalf a millimeter, and particularly preferably under 0.1 mm.

Multiplication ensures that, despite the usual displacements that occurduring folding, tear-open lines are always present that are de factoaligned with one another. This applies mutatis mutandis to the foldlines. In the following, for the sake of clarity, only one weakeningline is ever referred to, except in the explanations specificallyrelating to the multiplication. In the case of such multiplication, theexpression “point of intersection” becomes an intersection surface, thesmall dimensions of which, however, ensure that the same applies to itas is established with respect to the point.

In a first variant, one of the weakening lines extends parallel to theadjacent edge of the pack and the other extends substantially normalthereto; in this case, the point of intersection thereof is locatedpreferably some distance from the nearest corner of the pack. In thisvariant, the weakening line which extends parallel to the adjacent edgeis usually the fold line and the weakening line extending normal theretois the tear-open line. The distance between the fold line extendingparallel to the adjacent edge and the latter is in this case preferablybetween 3 and 20 mm, particularly preferably between 10 and 15 mm. Thismakes grasping and bending easier.

In another embodiment, the point of intersection is located near to oneof the corners of the pack, but outside the region of the sealing seamor sealing seams, and the two weakening lines are rotated through about45° with regard to the edges of the pack. In this variant, in order totear open the entire pack, the weakening line which cuts off the corneris preferably the fold line and the weakening line which runs into thecorner is preferably the tear- open line. If only a small opening isintended to be created, then the functionality of the lines is swapped;this can be indicated easily by corresponding labeling.

The point of intersection of the two, if appropriate multiple, weakeninglines is preferably moved so far into the corner that it allowscomfortable grasping of the package in order to tear it open. The foldline should be at least in each case 15 mm, preferably 20 mm to 25 mmlong on both sides of the point of intersection; the weakening line,which makes folding easier and ensures that it takes place at thecorrect location, can be much shorter. In the case of rectangular orsquare package outlines, this means that the point of intersection lieson the angle bisector at a distance of 15 to 25 mm from the corner.

The mode of operation of the pack is as follows:

The user folds the pack about one of the two weakening lines and tearsit open along the other of the two weakening lines. In the firstvariant, the user folds the pack about the weakening line extendingparallel to the adjacent edge and tears the pack open normal to thisedge; in the case of the arrangement in the corner, the user folds thepack about the weakening line virtually cutting off the corner and tearsthe pack open, starting from the corner region, diagonally, actuallyalong the angle bisector, in the case of rectangular or square packagesat around 45° .

As emerges from what has been stated, it is advantageous to arrange thetwo weakening lines on one of the outer surfaces of the pack in analigned manner with analogous weakening lines on the opposite side ofthe pack, so that the weakening line along which the user tears open thepack is actually a double weakening line, since it is present equally inboth sheet regions to be torn open.

The invention will be explained in more detail in the following textwith reference to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment in plan view and schematic section,

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment in a view analogous to that in FIG. 1,and

FIG. 3 shows a variant.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cushion-like pack, which is formed from two,preferably identical sheets 7, 7′. A substantially rectangular pack 1 isbounded by four sealing seams 2, 3. In this case, the sealing seams 2extend parallel to one another and the two sealing seams 3 likewiseextend parallel to one another, but normal to the sealing seams 2.

The secondary figure of FIG. 1 illustrates a purely schematic sectionalong the line A-A, with the illustration of the contents and thesealing seam 3 located in the viewing direction of the section beingomitted in order that the essential details are illustrated. The twosealing seams 2 can be seen in the secondary figure and the two sheets7, 7′ of which the pack 1 consists are clearly visible. It should benoted that a section normal to the line A-A would look exactly the same.

According to the invention, the opening aid according to the inventionin the form of two weakening lines 4, 5 is provided in the region of oneof the sealing seams 2, 3. In this case, the weakening line 4 extendsparallel to the adjacent edge 2 and the weakening line 5 extendssubstantially normal (commonly perpendicular) thereto. These twoweakening lines are provided not only in the upper sheet 7 which can beseen in FIG. 1 but also aligned therewith in the view of FIG. 1 in thesheet 7′ located thereunder. The user thus uses the weakening line 4 asa bending line, as a result of which the weakening line 5, along whichthe package 1 is torn open, comes into the edge region which is ofcourse now formed by the bending line 4, and the package can now be tornopen easily along the weakening line 5, although it is now twice asthick in this region.

The arrangement and length of the weakening lines 4, 5 depends on thesize of the pack 1, the contents thereof and on the answer to thequestion as to whether the pack is intended to be divided at leastsubstantially into two parts or whether it is sufficient to create aremoval opening.

Usually, pills, lozenges, contact lenses, pulverulent or granularsubstances, which are intended to be transferred from the pack intoanother container, or else gel-like or other viscous materials which areintended to be taken by the user, are packed in such packs in the fieldof medicine. It can be gathered, even from this enumeration, that thereare very different removal options and that a large variety of forms ofthe opening aid according to the invention result therefrom. In the caseof applications with other contents, for example for spices, forexpensive, in particular small-format components in the field ofelectronics, or the cosmetics industry, there are even more conditionsimposed on the opening of such cushions or sticks.

FIG. 2 illustrates a variant in which the weakening lines 4, 5 have beenmoved into one of the corners of the pack 1, and extend substantially inthe angle bisector of the sealing seams 2, 3 or normal to the firstweakening line. In this case, it is possible to bend the pack about theweakening line 4 and then to tear it open along the weakening line 5,thus substantially diagonally to the pack. It can be seen that it isthus possible to create a very large opening in the splayed apart statewithout there being the risk of a one-piece article, for example acontact lens, accidentally being shaken out or lost.

It is also possible to bend the pack about the weakening line 5 and totear it open along the weakening line 4, as a result of which, given anappropriate length of the weakening line 4, the corner of the pack issevered. This proves to be particularly useful when piece-form or liquidmaterial is intended to be removed from the pack 1, for exampleconsumed.

FIG. 2 also shows a variant of the pack 1 per se, specifically a packwhich consists only of one sheet 7 which is folded over along an edge 6and is closed along the three remaining edges by sealing lines 2, 3.This is also clearly visible in the secondary figure, which again showsa schematic section along the line A-A. Of course, it is also possiblehere to provide an opening aid analogous to that in FIG. 1. Said openingaid can, if easy opening is desired, by provided in the region of thefold-over edge 6, since it is then not necessary to tear through one ofthe sealing seams when the pack is bent about the weakening lineparallel to the edge 6 and subsequently opened.

FIG. 3 shows a variant of the invention in the case of what is known asa stick, again in plan view and schematic section. It can be seen thatin this case, two fold-over edges 6 are present, since the correspondingsealing seams or the sealing seam 2 have or has been displaced to themiddle of one of the surfaces and forms the longitudinal seam 2′ there.In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the weakening line 4 forbending parallel to the longitudinal seam and the weakening line 5 fortearing open normal thereto were shown.

It is clear that it is possible to vary the angle between the twoweakening lines 4, 5. However, if the small angle between them becomesless than 60° , problems when tearing open can occur, for which reasonan arrangement which is as far as possible at right angles is preferred.Whether this arrangement is parallel to one of the side edges or seamsor, as illustrated in FIG. 2, symmetrical about the angle bisectorbetween two edges in a corner, depends on the abovementionedcircumstances.

The weakening lines 4, 5 are provided in the PET layer, since it is ofcourse this layer which determines the mechanical tearing strength ofthe cover of the pack 1. At the same time, this provides a first visualaid for finding the opening point. This orientation aid is preferablyenhanced by a corresponding design of the printing on the pack 1. Theweakening lines 4, 5 can be produced in any known way, thus mechanicallyor else, preferably, by means of a high-power beam, preferably by meansof a laser. The adaptation of the wavelength and power of the laser tothe material used is not a problem for the person skilled in the artwith knowledge of the invention and the field of application, andlikewise guiding the laser with respect to the sheet, and thereforethere is no need to go into this in more detail.

With regard to the weakening lines 4, 5 themselves, it should also bestated that they do not have to extend in straight lines but can also bewaved or curved; they can absolutely be formed in a very differentmanner to the purely schematically illustrated lines. They can be lineswhere the PET layer has either only been weakened or even at leastsubstantially removed; the lines can be continuous or they can be dottedor dashed lines. The production and effect on the openingcharacteristics are known and widely described. With knowledge of theinvention, they can also be brought to the desired values by means of afew simple tests.

Finally it is possible, as already stated, to provide one or both of thelines in double or multiple form, for example the fold line about whichthe sheets of the pack are bent in order to make this bending easier.

It is essential, but, as with the previously known weakening lines andtear-open aids, already known, that the protective function of the packremains fully retained in the region of the weakening lines 4, 5, i.e.the aluminum layer, which of course fulfills this function, must not bedamaged or impaired.

The pack does not have to be square or even rectangular at all.Polygonal outlines and even those having an outline that is curved atleast in portions can also be used. The expressions “parallel to” and“normal to” should then relate to tangents or secants of this portion.

1. A packet for packaging contents, the packet comprising: one or twosheets, each sheet having at least one aluminum layer facing the packetcontents and at least one outer surface layer that faces away from thepacket contents, where the outer surface layer is made of at least onematerial selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), paper, oriented polypropylene (OPP) and orientedpolyamide (OPA), and where the additional layer is connected to analuminum layer over substantially their entire areas; wherein the packethas a tear-open aid in the outer surface layer, the tear-open aidincluding at least two intersecting weakening lines in the outer surfacelayer.
 2. The packet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the point ofintersection of the at least two intersecting weakening lines in theouter surface layer is non-coincident with the nearest edge of the pack.3. The packet as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a secondtear-open aid on an opposite outer surface of the packet, configured sothat the two tear-open aids are substantially aligned with one another.4. The packet as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of thetear-open aids includes double or multiple parallel weakening lines. 5.The packet as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the weakening linesextends parallel to an adjacent edge of the packet.
 6. The packet asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the point of intersection of the weakeninglines is disposed in a corner region of the packet, and wherein one ofthe weakening lines extends toward the corner.
 7. The packet as claimedin claim 6, wherein the packet has a rectangular or square outline, andthe point of intersection of the weakening lines lies on an anglebisector of the corner at a distance of 15 to 25 mm from the apex of thecorner.
 8. The packet as claimed in claim 5, wherein the distance of theweakening line from the adjacent edge is between about 3 and about 20mm.
 9. The packet as claimed in claim 4, wherein the spacing betweenadjacent double or multiple parallel weakening lines is less than about1 mm.
 10. The packet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the packet has theform of a stick or cushion.
 11. The packet as claimed in claim 2,wherein the angle defined by the at least two intersecting weakeninglines is between 60° and 90° .
 12. The packet as claimed in claim 5,wherein the distance of the weakening line from the adjacent edge isbetween about 10 and about 15 mm.
 13. The packet as claimed in claim 4,wherein the spacing between adjacent double or multiple parallelweakening lines is less than about 0.5 mm.
 14. The packet as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the spacing between adjacent double or multipleparallel weakening lines is less than about 0.1 mm.